Rael’s Beads

Meet Rael, a young entrepreneur from Uhuru Girls Secondary School in Kenya and one of the finalists of this week’s enterprise challenge competition in Turkana County. Rael created a beads (jewelry) making business as a way to help her family with income during the pandemic.

Rael says her mother used to wear beads, a common standard of beauty in the Turkana culture, and she always admired how beautiful they were. With a starting capital of 500 shillings, Rael bought beads and made her first belt that she later sold at 2,500 ksh.

She continues to maintain her profit margin for her products thanks to her skills from Asante Africa Foundation. She uses the profits to buy school supplies and support her family. Rael believes that the success of her business is mainly attributed to the trust and commitment she gets from her customers.

“Because I value my customers, I do not turn them away just because they cannot match the asking price for my products, even one shilling can make a difference in my business…”

Rael sold all the products she showcased at the Enterprise Challenge competitions today!

A story of resilience, commitment, and determination.